By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
Escorted by a Chinese J-16 fighter jet, a Russian Tu-95 bomber and two nuclear-capable PLA Air Force H-6N bombers flew across the Sea of Japan in what could be described as an effort to “intimidate” the US and its allies in the region with a joint show of long-range, multi-national strike capability.
Russian and Chinese aircraft have conducted joint patrols before, yet this most recent exercises seems significant for a couple key reasons, given upgrades to the H-6N and Chinese media reports that Russian and Chinese bombers were able to “share intelligence.”
“The combined bomber-flights traversed a vast amount of airspace and navigated complex meteorological conditions,” the Chinese government-backed GlobalTimes newspaper said. The paper described the Russian-Chinese patrol in terms of long-range deterrence and “intelligence sharing.”
“The joint patrol enhanced and reinforced the intelligence sharing and collaborative combat capabilities between the two militaries, showcasing the high level of strategic mutual trust between them,” the Global Times essay states.
The significant question here seems to pertain to “intelligence sharing” as multi-national data exchanges can present technical challenges such as a need to integrate data formats, transport layer interoperability and establish the interfaces sufficient to ensure information exchange. Should this level of high-speed, airborne information exchange be advanced and highly operational, a Russian-Chinese bomber formation would present a potentially unprecedented threat. If effectively networked Russian and Chinese bombers, assisted by high-speed sensing and data processing, could exchange intelligence and targeting detail over long-ranges, much wider areas could be held at risk and dwell time or a target identification window could be shortened, something which would make bombers more difficult for air or ground forces to track. The extent or technological sophistication of the Russian-Chinese networking and data sharing may be tough to discern, yet the Chinese paper does cite the long “range” of the H-6N bomber, a platform slated to travel more than 2,000 miles without needing to refuel. This certainly places Japan, Taiwan and even the Philippines within range of a bombing strike launched from the mainland.
Upgraded H-6N
The Chinese paper also mentions “upgrades” to the H-6N, a nuclear-armed variant of the PLA’s long-range H-6 bomber in service with the PLA Air Force for decades. The “N” H-6, however, is said by the Global Times to be the most current variant. The H-6N has a “reshaped fuselage” enabling the aircraft to carry “air-launched ballistic missiles,” including an air-launched variant of the well known DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missile, according to an essay in The Diplomat as far back as 2018. This would suggest that perhaps the PLA Air Force operates a “nuclear-capable” variant of the DF-21, a threat scenario which would of course greatly increase the threat envelope through which the bomber could hold target areas at risk.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics& Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
